CA Wildfire Threatens Ronald Reagan's Old Ranch
By Hayley Smith
Source Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — The Alisal fire in Santa Barbara County swelled for the third day as flames closed in on homes, threatened Ronald Reagan’s old ranch and kept the 101 Freeway shut down.
The blaze — the first major wildfire in Southern California this season — arrived amid howling sundowner winds that pushed it over ridges, through canyons and down toward the coast. Drought-parched grasses and chaparral ignited with ease, and fire officials said some airborne embers were landing more than a mile away.
By Wednesday evening, the fire had grown to 15,442 acres and was 5% contained. Santa Barbara County officials declared a local emergency, and Gov. Gavin Newsom secured federal assistance for the blaze.
The area where the fire is burning, which spans from from El Capitan State Beach to Gaviota along the coast and inland toward Solvang, is home to several sprawling ranch properties, many of which have been in the same families for generations.
There are other items of concern tucked among the quiet hillside homesteads, including the presidential ranch, a population of rare plants and a controversial oil processing facility. With more erratic winds expected soon, officials said the worst could be yet to come.
“We’ll be very, very busy out there,” Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said during a news conference Wednesday. “We expect that for weeks, if not months, you will see fire crews out there putting out hot spots on this fire.”
After sparking Monday afternoon, the Alisal fire grew hundreds of acres within hours as sundowner winds moved in.
“What happened (Monday) was a completely wind-driven event,” said Andrew Madsen, spokesman for Los Padres National Forest. “When you’ve got real high winds like that, there’s nothing that helps. Everybody just gets out of the way.”
Fire crews on Wednesday remained cautiously optimistic after calmer morning conditions enabled them to make some aerial attacks on the fire, Madsen said.
More erratic winds are forecast for the area, which could ground the planes and continue to stymie firefighting efforts, Los Padres National Forest Fire Chief Jim Harris said during the news conference.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann said Wednesday that nearly all efforts will be focused on preserving the area’s “long legacy of ranching and farming (and) amazing cultural and natural resources.”
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